Editing Percy Sledge (section)

==Biography==
===Early career===
Sledge was born on November 25, 1940, in [[Leighton, Alabama]].<ref>{{cite web|title=PERCY SLEDGE Alabama Black History Month|url=http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf?%2Fspecialreport%2Fblackhistory%2Fsledge.html|website=Alabama Local News|access-date=6 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203114209/http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf?%2Fspecialreport%2Fblackhistory%2Fsledge.html|archive-date=3 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Percy Sledge|url=http://www.museumofthegulfcoast.org/personalities-music-legends-percy-sledge.html|website=Museum of the Gulf Coast|access-date=6 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426050306/http://www.museumofthegulfcoast.org/personalities-music-legends-percy-sledge.html|archive-date=26 April 2012}}</ref> He worked in a series of [[agriculture|agricultural]] jobs in the fields near Leighton, before taking a job as an orderly at [[Colbert County, Alabama|Colbert County]] Hospital in [[Sheffield, Alabama]]. Through the mid-1960s, he toured the [[Southeastern United States|Southeast]] with the ''Esquires Combo'' on weekends,<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/> while working at the hospital during the week. A former patient and mutual friend of Sledge and [[record producer]] [[Quin Ivy]] introduced the two. An audition followed, and Sledge was signed to a recording contract.<ref name="lmhof">{{cite web|publisher=Louisiana Music Hall of Fame|first=Tom|last=Aswell|title=Louisiana Music Hall of Fame - Percy Sledge - 2007|url=http://louisianamusichalloffame.org/content/view/31/91/|access-date=February 25, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110814072603/http://louisianamusichalloffame.org/content/view/31/91/|archive-date=August 14, 2011}}.</ref>

[[File:Percy Sledge 1974 touring.jpg|thumb|left|240px|Sledge performing on tour in 1974]]
Sledge's soulful voice was perfect for the series of soul [[Ballad (music)|ballad]]s produced by Ivy and Marlin Greene, which rock critic [[Dave Marsh]] called "emotional classics for romantics of all ages". "[[When a Man Loves a Woman (song)|When a Man Loves a Woman]]" was Sledge's first song recorded under the contract, and was released in March 1966.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/> According to Sledge, the inspiration for the song came when his girlfriend left him for a modelling career after he was laid off from a construction job in late 1965,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/percy-sledge-sang-man-loves-woman-dies-30308566|title=Percy Sledge, Who Sang 'When a Man Loves a Woman,' Dies|newspaper=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|access-date=April 14, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150415162214/https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/percy-sledge-sang-man-loves-woman-dies-30308566|archive-date=April 15, 2015}}</ref> and, because bassist Calvin Lewis and organist Andrew Wright helped him with the song, he gave all the songwriting credits to them.<ref name="rock hall"/> It reached No. 1 in the US and went on to become an international hit. "When a Man Loves a Woman" was a hit twice in the UK, reaching No. 4 in 1966 and, on reissue, peaked at No. 2 in 1987. The song was also the first gold record released by [[Atlantic Records]].<ref name="The Book of Golden Discs">{{cite book|first=Joseph|last=Murrells|year=1978|title=The Book of Golden Discs|edition=2nd|publisher=Barrie and Jenkins Ltd|location=London|page=[https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/213 213]|isbn=0-214-20512-6|url=https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/213}}</ref> The soul anthem became the cornerstone of Sledge's career, and was followed by "Warm and Tender Love" (covered by British singer [[Elkie Brooks]] in 1981), "It Tears Me Up", "[[Take Time to Know Her (song)|Take Time to Know Her]]" (his second biggest US hit, reaching No. 11; the song's lyric was written by Steve Davis), "[[Love Me Tender (song)|Love Me Tender]]", and "Cover Me".<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/><ref name="rock hall">{{cite web|url=http://www.rockhall.com/inductees/percy-sledge|title=Percy Sledge|website=Rockhall.com|access-date=February 3, 2010}}</ref>

Sledge charted with "I'll Be Your Everything" and "Sunshine" during the 1970s, and became an international concert favorite throughout the world, especially in the [[Netherlands]], [[Germany]], and on the [[Africa|African continent]]; he averaged 100 concerts a year in [[apartheid]]-era [[South Africa]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.3032209|title=Percy Sledge, When a Man Loves a Woman singer, dead at 74|website=[[CBC News]]|access-date=April 14, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429123302/http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/news/story/1.3032209|archive-date=April 29, 2015}}</ref><ref name="bbcdeath">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-32301435|title=Soul singer Percy Sledge dies aged 74|date=April 14, 2015 |publisher=[[BBC News]]|access-date=April 14, 2015}}</ref>

===Later career===
Sledge's career enjoyed a renaissance in the 1980s during which "When a Man Loves a Woman" re-entered the [[UK Singles Chart]] after being used in a [[Levi's]] [[television advertisement|commercial]], peaking at No. 2 behind the reissued [[Ben E. King]] classic "[[Stand by Me (Ben E. King song)|Stand by Me]]".<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/> On March 23, 1987, Sledge performed "When a Man Loves a Woman" as the musical guest on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' hosted by [[Bill Murray]]. In the early 1990s, [[Michael Bolton]] brought "When a Man Loves a Woman" back into the limelight again on his hit album ''[[Time, Love, & Tenderness]]''. On the week of November 17 to November 23, 1991, Bolton's version also hit No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart, exactly 25½ years to the week after Percy's did in 1966.

In 1994, Saul Davis and [[Barry Goldberg]] produced Sledge's album ''[[Blue Night (Percy Sledge album)|Blue Night]]'' for Philippe Le Bras' Sky Ranch label and [[Virgin Records]]. It featured [[Bobby Womack]], [[Steve Cropper]], and [[Mick Taylor]] among others.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/> ''Blue Night'' received a Grammy nomination for [[Best Contemporary Blues Album]], Vocal or Instrumental, and in 1996 it won the [[Blues Music Award|W.C. Handy Award]] for best soul or blues album.

In 2004, Davis and Goldberg also produced the ''Shining Through the Rain'' album, which preceded his induction into the [[Rock & Roll Hall of Fame]]. Songs on the CD were written by [[Mikael Rickfors]], [[Steve Earle]], the [[Bee Gees]], [[Carla Olson]], [[Denny Freeman]], [[Allan Clarke (singer)|Allan Clarke]] and [[Jackie Lomax]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/shining-through-the-rain-mw0000385173|title=Shining Through the Rain|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=April 14, 2015|author=Campbell, Al}}</ref> The same year, Percy recorded a live album with his band Sunset Drive entitled ''Percy Sledge and Sunset Drive – Live in Virginia'' on WRM Records produced by Warren Rodgers.

In May 2007, Percy was inducted into The [[Louisiana Music Hall of Fame|Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame]] in [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana|Baton Rouge, LA]].

In December 2010, [[Rhino Handmade]] issued a four-CD retrospective, ''The Atlantic Recordings'', which covers all of the issued Atlantic masters, as well as many of the tracks unissued in the United States (although some are simply the mono versions of songs originally issued in stereo; Disc 1 comprises Sledge's first two LPs, which were not recorded on stereo equipment). In 2011 Sledge toured with Sir [[Cliff Richard]] during his Soulicious tour, performing "[[I'm Your Puppet]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/oct/27/cliff-richard-review-soulicious|first=Michael|last=Hann|title=Cliff Richard – review|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=October 27, 2011|access-date=April 14, 2015}}</ref>

===Personal life===
Sledge married twice and had twelve children, three of whom became singers.<ref>{{cite web|first=Frank|last=Roberts|url=http://hamptonroads.com/2008/09/sledges-when-man-loves-woman-hit-it-big|title=Sledge's 'When a Man Loves a Woman' hit it big|website=HamptonRoads.com|date=September 18, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150414223343/http://hamptonroads.com/2008/09/sledges-when-man-loves-woman-hit-it-big|archive-date=April 14, 2015}}</ref>